Outsole

ABSTRACT

An outsole is provided with a protection flange projecting outwardly from the outer peripheral surface of the outsole and substantially flush with a top side of the outsole. An upper has a bottom end portion which includes a connection part extending laterally and outwardly from the bottom end portion thereof and attached to the protection flange and the top side of the outsole. Preferably, the connection part is an outwardly turned part of the upper or a welt. With the protection flange, the connection part is permitted to be ground so as to be flush with the protection flange without harming the outer peripheral surface of the outsole.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a shoe, more particularly to an improvementrelating to an outsole of a shoe.

2. Description of the Related Art

Primary components of shoes generally include uppers and outsoles. Inorder to improve the appearance of shoes, various designs have beenprovided for connections between outsoles and uppers. There are shoeswhich have an outsole attached to an upper with an outwardly turned endportion or an outwardly turned welt member. In making such shoes, sinceit is difficult to make a connecting part of the upper flush with aconnecting part of the outsole, a grinding process is usually employedto grind the connecting parts so as to provide a neat and tidyconnection between the outsole and the upper.

However, due to the grinding process which can remove some part of thematerial from the marginal part of the outsole, the outsole ispractically preformed with a size larger than that originally designedfor the outsole, thereby wasting the material and increasing themanufacturing cost. In addition, although a neat and tidy connectionbetween the outsole and the upper can be accomplished through a grindingprocess, it is impossible to provide a pleasing outer appearance for theouter peripheral surface of the outsole due to the grinding process.This is because the grinding process can damage or remove any decorativepattern formed on the outer peripheral surface of the outsole whengrinding the connection between the outsole and the upper which is veryclose to the outer peripheral surface of the outsole. Therefore, thereis a need for further improvement that can provide a neat and trimmedconnection between an upper and an outsole without adversely affectingthe outer peripheral surface of the outsole.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the invention is to provide a shoe with an outsole whichhas an arrangement for protecting the outer peripheral surface of theoutsole so that any finishing treatment for the connection of theoutsole with an upper will not harm the outer peripheral surface of theoutsole.

According to the present invention, a shoe comprises: an outsole havinga top side, a bottom side, an outer peripheral surface interconnectingthe top and bottom sides, and a protection flange projecting outwardlyfrom the outer peripheral surface and substantially flush with the topside; and an upper having a bottom end portion which includes aconnection part extending laterally and outwardly from the bottom endportion and attached to the protection flange and the top side of theoutsole, the protection flange having an edge flush with the connectionpart. As a result, the connection part is permitted to be ground so asto be flush with the edge of the protection flange without affecting theouter peripheral surface of the outsole.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent in the following detailed description of the preferredembodiments of the invention, with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary sectional view of a first preferred embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 2 is the same view as FIG. 1 but with the connection between aprojection flange and an upper being trimmed;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view of a second preferred embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view of a third preferred embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view of a fourth preferred embodimentof the present invention; and

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view of a fifth preferred embodimentof the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Before the present invention is described in greater detail, it shouldbe noted that same reference numerals have been used to denote likeelements throughout the specification.

Referring to FIG. 1, a first preferred embodiment of the presentinvention is shown to include a shoe 10 which has an outsole 11 and anupper 12. The outsole 11 may be made of rubber or any otherconventionally used suitable material and includes a top side 111, abottom side 112 and an outer peripheral surface 113 interconnecting thetop and bottom sides 111 and 112. The outer peripheral surface 113 ofthe outsole 11 is provided with a protection flange 114 which projectsfrom the outer peripheral surface 113 and is flush with the top side111. Due to the presence of the protection flange 114, the outsole 11has a large cross-section in a portion where the protection flange 114is provided, and a small cross-section in the remaining portion wherethe protection flange 114 is not provided. Preferably, the outerperipheral surface 113 may be formed with a decorative relief patternbelow the protection flange 114.

The upper 12 may be made of leather, fabric or any other suitablematerial and includes a bottom end portion 121 having a connection part122 which extends laterally and outwardly from the bottom end portion121 for attachment to the outsole 11. In this embodiment, the connectionpart 122 is an end part of the bottom end portion 121 that is turnedoutward from the bottom end portion 121.

In assembly, the outwardly turned connection part 122 of the upper 12 issewn to the protection flange 114 of the outsole 11. Afterwards, agrinding process is performed to grind the edges of the connection part122 and the protection flange 114 until the edges are flush with eachother, as shown in FIG. 2, in order to realize a neat and trimmedconnection between the upper 12 and the outsole

According to the present invention, the protection flange 114 isprovided to prevent the outer peripheral surface 113 of the outsole 11from being damaged by any tool used in the grinding process. As thegrinding action is performed on the protection flange 114 that projectsaway from the outer peripheral surface 113, the grinding tool cannotreach the outer peripheral surface 113 during the grinding process sothat protection of the outer peripheral surface 113 can be assuredlyrealized.

The protection flange 114 according to the present invention may be usedin different types of shoes. Referring to FIG. 3, a second embodiment ofthe present invention includes a shoe 20 which has the outsole 11 and anupper 22. The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment inthat an insole 221 is adhered or attached to the top side 111 of theoutsole 11 and the top side of the protection flange 114, and a welt 222of substantially T-shaped cross section is adhered to the insole 221. Inaddition, the connection part 224 of the bottom end portion 223 of theupper 22 is sewn to the insole 221 and the welt 222, rather than to theprotection flange 114 of the outsole 11. During the grinding process,the edges of the protection flange 114 and the connection part 224,together with the welt 222 and the insole 221, are ground and trimmed bya grinding tool.

Referring to FIG. 4, a third preferred embodiment of the presentinvention includes a shoe 30 which has the outsole 11 and an upper 32.The third preferred embodiment differs from the second preferredembodiment in that the third preferred embodiment does not include anycomponent corresponding to the welt 222 of the second embodiment. Theconnection part 323 of the bottom end portion 322 of the upper 32 issewn to an insole 321 which is attached to the top side 111 of theoutsole 11 and the top side of the protection flange 114 which projectsfrom the outer peripheral surface 113 of the outsole 11.

Referring to FIG. 5, a fourth preferred embodiment of the presentinvention includes a shoe 40 which comprises the outsole 11 and an upper42. This embodiment differs from the third embodiment in that the upper42 has a bottom end portion 423 which is not turned outward but includesa welt 422 of substantially L-shaped cross-section that is turnedoutward from the bottom end portion 423. The welt 422 has an upper endsewn to the bottom end portion 423 and a lower end sewn to an insole 421which is attached to the protection flange 114 and the top side 111 ofthe outsole 11.

Referring to FIG. 6, a fifth preferred embodiment of the presentinvention includes a shoe 50 which comprises the outsole 11 and an upper52 with a bottom end portion 521 turned inward and connected to a solemember 522. The bottom end portion 521 of the upper 52 incorporates awelt 523 of substantially L-shaped cross-section which is turned outwardfrom the bottom end portion 521 and is attached to the protection flange114 and the top side 111 of the outsole 11.

While the protection flange 114 as described hereinbefore extendscontinuously along the periphery of the outsole 11, the configurationthereof should not be limited only thereto. The protection flange 114according to the present invention may be arranged such that it projectsfrom parts of the periphery of the outsole 11 in a discontinuous manner.Furthermore, the construction of the outsole in the present inventionshould not be limited only to one protection flange for grinding.

In addition, while the welt 422 or 523 exemplified in the fourth andfifth preferred embodiments has an L-shaped cross-section, the presentinvention may be used together with other welts having differentconfigurations.

While the present invention has been described in connection with whatis considered the most practical and preferred embodiments, it isunderstood that this invention is not limited to the disclosedembodiments but is intended to cover various arrangements includedwithin the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretations andequivalent arrangements.

1. A shoe comprising: an outsole having a top side, a bottom side, anouter peripheral surface interconnecting said top and bottom sides, anda protection flange projecting outwardly from said outer peripheralsurface and substantially flush with said top side; and an upper havinga bottom end portion which includes a connection part extendinglaterally and outwardly from said bottom end portion and attached tosaid protection flange and said top side of said outsole, saidprotection flange having an edge flush with said connection part,whereby said connection part is permitted to be ground so as to be flushwith said edge of said protection flange without affecting said outerperipheral surface of said outsole.
 2. The shoe as claimed in claim 1,wherein said outsole has a large cross-section in a portion where saidprotection flange is provided, and a small cross-section in theremaining portion where said protection flange is not provided.
 3. Theshoe as claimed in claim 1, wherein said connection part is a part ofsaid bottom end portion of said upper which is turned outward andattached to said protection flange.
 4. The shoe as claimed in claim 3,further comprising an insole attached to said protection flange and saidtop side of said outsole, said connection part being connected to saidprotection flange through said insole.
 5. The shoe as claimed in claim4, further comprising a welt disposed between said insole and saidconnection part.
 6. The shoe as claimed in claim 1, wherein said bottomend portion of said upper includes a welt which is turned outward fromsaid bottom end portion, said welt being attached to said protectionflange and said top side of said outsole.
 7. A shoe comprising: anoutsole having a top side, a bottom side, an outer peripheral surfaceinterconnecting said top and bottom sides, and a protection flangeprojecting outwardly from said outer peripheral surface andsubstantially flush with said top side, said outsole having a largecross-section in a portion where said protection flange is provided, anda small cross-section in the remaining portion where said protectionflange is not provided; and an upper having a bottom end portion whichincludes a connection part extending laterally and outwardly from saidbottom end portion and attached to said protection flange and said topside of said outsole, said protection flange having an edge flush withsaid connection part, whereby said connection part is permitted to beground flush with said edge of said protection flange without affectingsaid outer peripheral surface of said outsole.